Friday, February 2, 2007

My mom used to bake cakes and make desserts every week. I’d always take a slice of freshly baked cake to school to eat as a snack between classes.

This cake is one of the most common cakes here in Brazil and it’s different from the American and European carrot cake recipes I’ve seen and made.

We blend the carrots with all the other ingredients and the cake has a beautiful and intense orange color.There are no nuts, raisins or spices in this cake, and the cream cheese frosting is replaced by a chocolate icing – so simple and delicious that can be used in other cake recipes, too.

I once added chocolate chips to the batter – it was great!

Carrot cake – Brazilian style

250g carrots – aprox. 3 small carrots260g all purpose flour320g sugar4 eggs – if you use very large eggs cut down to 3200ml vegetable oil1 tablespoon baking powderpinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/355ºF. Grease and flour a 24cm ring pan - I used a slightly smaller pan, and this is what happened:

Chop the carrots in small pieces.Place all the ingredients in a blender – liquids first – and blend for a couple of minutes until you get a creamy mixture.Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

For the icing: mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it boils.Remove from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes before pouring it over the cake.

48 comments:

Patricia, I have never been a fan of carrot cake the way it's made here in the US -- chunky, with lots of fruit -- almost like a Christmas fruit cake, and always with a white icing. Your recipe looks fantastic -- carrots that are used for sweetness and not for texture, and chocolate frosting! I'm going to try it this weekend. Thanks!

This is a beautiful and simple way to make carrot cake and I love the addition of the chocolate icing! One to try for the future!Freyap.s. this is my first time on your blog and I think it's wonderful!

Pat, one of the reasons why i posted carrot cake on Tapioca was because of its uniqueness. Some of the friends I told went like: chocolate? ( weird face).If they just gave it a go. This cake is really beautiful.Yours is doing a great job of ad vertising - looks spectacular.bjocas

Patricia, somehow I've never tried carrot cake in Brazil! This sounds so delicious, that I think I'll make it myself.

And thanks again for the nice comment you left on my blog today. I'm so glad you're enjoying my posts about Brazil. And I must say how happy I am to have discovered your blog. It's been such a treat to read about all the Brazilian foods I love (and miss) so much!

Pat, I love your decription on this cake - oragne color! I love simple cakes, but they have to look good too, your recipe just fits the bill!I don't fancy about the amercian verion (spicy cake + cream cheese frosting), will give your version a try!

Wow, this sounds like a wonderful alternative to the usual carrot cake. I am bookmarking this for trying later on.

I'm so happy I found your blog. I'm a big fan of Brazilian food specifically feijoada and pao de queijo but have not made either yet. I'm scared it would not meet my hopes and expectations. hehe But I should really try. Do you have a feijoada recipe you favor?>

I'm about to make this recipe after a different Brazilian carrot cake recipe didn't turn out so good. I'm hoping this one will be much more like the Brazilian carrot cake I remember from the time I lived in São Paulo.

I've been watching your blog for quite some time now (a great way to break up the work day in the office!) and made this cake for dessert when I got home. The batter was fantastic and just as orange as your description; I could barely wait for it to finish baking. I nixed the chocolate sauce, instead dusting my (HUGE) slice with confectioners sugar and it was heaven!

Thnks alot dear for ur prompt reply..Earlier i had tried a carrot cake which called for grated carrots n wasnt that gr8..My husband said that it was not at all close to a lovely carrot cake he hd tasted somewhere, wh also had som chocolate cream/sauce..M sure he mst have tasted d brazillian style carrot cake..Im excited to try it soon n let u know abt it..Thnks again :-)

Thnks alot dear for ur prompt reply..Earlier i had tried a carrot cake which called for grated carrots n wasnt that gr8..My husband said that it was not at all close to a lovely carrot cake he hd tasted somewhere, wh also had som chocolate cream/sauce..M sure he mst have tasted d brazillian style carrot cake..Im excited to try it soon n let u know abt it..Thnks again :-)

Hi Patricia,Boy am I glad I stumbled upon your blog while in search of recipes to celebrate Carrot Cake Day on my blog. Everything looks so delicious. I found you through my Hospitality search engine. My guess is, I was here before, didn't have time to stay, and put your link in the engine. I bet your in my bookmarks too. I dislike when links get lost in bookmarks. Anyway, I found you now!!!

I was wondering, I'm thinking about doing a sort of carrot cake recipe round-up for Carrot Cake Day Feb. 3, 2010. How would you feel about me "grabbing" you picture and linking it to your post?

I've never experienced Brazilian Carrot Cake but from the rave reviews, it sure seems like I better:) Thank you so much for sharing...